Medieval England - Year 1450: Eleanor was a poor shopkeeper's daughter whose only hope for a better life for herself and her family was to marry well. When she caught the eye of Thomas Fletcher, a royal courtier of noble blood, her family thought he...
Eleanor couldn't get that look on Henry's face off of her mind. When that door had opened and he saw the way they were dressed, she could physically see his heart breaking and it made her heart break for him. He had obviously assumed her and Arthur had slept together. She couldn't blame him because it looked bad, but he left before either of them had a chance to explain the truth.
After they got dressed, they had searched the castle trying to find Henry, but neither of them had any luck. She hoped Henry would at least still attend the ball that night so she would have a chance to explain. Eventually her and Arthur were going to be getting married anyway, but she really wanted Henry to know that they hadn't slept together yet. She also wanted to tell him about Thomas' threat, if she could ever find him.
It didn't help that the castle was packed full of guests and visitors that had come in from far away countries for the ball that night so there were people everywhere.
When it was time for the mid-day meal, Eleanor was informed that the royal family were now eating their meals in the grand dining hall since they had so many guests. When she got to the grand hall, she saw that it was a very large room with long vertical rows of tables and at the head of the room was a horizontal table where the Royal family were sitting.
Henry was there in the center of it and Jacqueline was by his side where Eleanor would have normally been sitting. His mother, Joan, Richard and even Guinevere were sitting there as well. Seeing Jacqueline holding onto Henry's arm and smiling at him made tears burn at her eyes and she felt so jealous it made her want to scream and pull Jacqueline off of him. She had to talk to him to explain.
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As she started walking towards their table, one of the same guards she had met that day guarding the gate at the tournament stepped in front of her.
"Excuse me," she said, stepping to the side and trying to go around him, but he stepped to the side too and blocked her path.
She scrunched her brows and looked at him. "I need to speak to Henry. Remember he had told you to always let me through to him?"
"Well things have changed since then milady. I was given very specific instructions that the King did not wish to see you today. He said that I was to keep an eye out for you so I could let you know that you were to eat at the far end of the dining hall where he couldn't see you."
Eleanor looked back at Henry and he was looking down at his plate with his head hung and he looked miserable. Somehow she had to figure out a way to let him know the truth. The guard motioned for her to go back the way she came and she hesitated before finally turning around and walking away.
She sat down at the end of the dining hall table and started to eat, looking around the room for Arthur. She didn't see him anywhere. As she ate, she thought about the situation she was in and she felt like she had made a mess of everything. Thomas hated her to the point of threatening her and now Henry hated her too. Maybe Thomas was right. Maybe she wasn't cut out to be a courtier.
